Claremont Library reopens after $3 million renovation

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Greg Svanidze, left, receives instructions on the new self-check machine form library assistant Antony Esquivel during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, and that may be true too of the Claremont Library, where little seemed to have changed to the bunker-like exterior after renovations that forced the facility closed for seven months.

The reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

People using the new public computer area during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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People wait in line to check out at new circulation desk during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

People wait in line to check out at new circulation desk during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Librarian assist the public during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Emily Cardenas, who works at Pomona College, checks out DVDs on the new self-check machine during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Jeffrey Prince, of Pomona, exits the new gender-neutral restroom during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Chris Warburton, assistant library administrator, demonstrates the new laptop checkout station during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Greg Svanidze, left, receives instructions on the new self-check machine form library assistant Antony Esquivel during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Amy Crow, community library manager, assists Edy Delgado, of Chino Hills, with the new self-check machine during the reopening of the renovated Claremont Library in Claremont on Monday, November 26, 2018. The improvements included ADA-compliant restrooms, a gender-neutral restroom, as well as a new heating and air conditioning system.(Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

But the patrons who streamed inside Monday after its reopening exclaimed that the library felt brand new.

Gone are the dark and dreary computers stations at the center of the room, replaced with new white stations. Nearby are another half-dozen workstations with electrical outlets. They’re flanked by bookshelves on both sides, which have been reconfigured and are now aligned diagonally.

“It looks so much brighter and wide open. It’s just amazing how moving the shelves diagonally allows so much more light to come in,” said Ann Zenger, who has been coming to this Los Angeles County branch library at 208 N Harvard Ave. for years.

Zenger initially thought the four skylights above the computer stations were part of the renovations.

She wasn’t alone. Amy Crow, the branch manager at the library, said a longtime employee and others patrons also made the same mistake Monday.

“That was effect of opening the center of the library. Now we’re able to highlight this beautiful architectural feature,” she said, referring to the skylights. “We’ve rearranged the shelves to maximize our space and to make the area feel more open.”

Making the renovations to the Claremont Library, among the top 10 busiest in Los Angeles County, was no easy feat. Plans had been in the works for at least eight years, Louix Escobar-Matute, library administrator for the county, said.

“There are always plans to renovate things, but where’s the money,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts to any renovation, and you want to make sure they are thought out and considered.”

Funds for the renovations came Los Angeles County’s CEO office, Los Angeles County, the library, Friends of Claremont Library as well as the city, Crow and Escobar-Matute said.

In all, crews packed 3,000 boxes of books in storage containers on site while the work was completed. Only a few items went to the temporary location at the Hughes Community Center, Crow said.

Here is what all the work entailed:

The east entrance lobby had new flooring installed.

The adult area and main library lobby were recarpeted.

New circulation desks and an adult area information desk were installed and now include three self-checkout machines.

Upgraded and ADA-compliant restrooms, the addition of a gender-neutral restroom.

Drought-tolerant landscaping added.

The parking lot repaved.

Zenger’s observation that it was brighter is true, Escobar-Matute said, because LED lighting has been installed throughout the 43-year-old building.

The biggest structural change isn’t visible to the library patron from inside. The entire roof was replaced as well as a new heating and air conditioning system were installed, Crow said.

“The HVAC system has CO2 sensors, so it senses people in the building and it regulates it accordingly. So it’s not just at 72 degrees hoping it remains that way,” Escobar-Matute added.

All the computers are new, as is the addition of a 12-laptop dispenser. The locker station has a screen to one side which allows a patron to use a library card to check out a laptop. While there is a two-hour limit on the computer stations, Crow said there is no time restrictions on the laptops – just that they stay in the building.

“They are GPS-enabled so we can track them down,” she added.

There’s also wireless printing in the building, with the first 10 pages per day free, costing $0.15 a page after that, she said.

About the computer stations, Crow said: “We want our computers used, so if they hit the two-hour mark and there are free computers, then we will work with them.”

Next to the laptop lockers is the new gender-neutral restroom, complete with a changing table.

“Every bathroom has a changing table — that was at the top of our list,” Crow said.

That was reassuring to longtime library patron Julie Steinbach of Claremont. Earlier in the morning, she had inquired whether the men’s bathroom had a changing table.

The DVD room next to the circulation desk has been removed and is now the Claremont author’s collection and public meeting room.

Patrons who like to purchase books from Friends of Claremont Library will now find their selections in a bookshelf in the lobby of the east entrance as well as on two shelves on either side of interior east side entrance.

Liset Márquez covers the cities of Pomona, Claremont, La Verne and San Dimas for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. A beat reporter for the Bulletin since 2006, she previously wrote for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She keeps a watchful eye on city councils and the Dodgers.